Category Archives: Smoothies

I am 12 hours away from being finished with my second Arbonne 28 day detox boot camp! I am feeling so good right now, that I thinking I am really going to stick to the 80/20 rule this go round. I am going to reintegrate pork, all fruits, corn and wine back in. Going to stick to enjoying wine to once a week during the weekend. I am also going to stay away from boxed snacks even if they do say gluten-free. I am still 3 weeks away from race and I don’t want to erase this awesome feeling! Tomorrow I will share my weight loss and possibly my before and after pics.

Day 25

Woke up and made a berry shake and made a detox iced tea to go. I had an Arbonne workshop in the morning so I snacked on some granola, blueberries and strawberries. For lunch I had a quick shake and some black rice tortilla and humus. Afternoon was busy and we didn’t get to eat dinner until after 7:30. I had zucchini spaghetti and Bolognese sauce.

After dinner I finished my day with a detox tea.

Day 26

Since it is a Saturday I had more time in the morning and I made a pumpkin smoothie this morning. It was delicious. I added about 3 table spoons of organic canned pumpkin, fiber, probiotic, almond milk , one scoop vanilla and one scoop chocolate protein. I also added pumpkin spice and cinnamon. For a mid morning snack I had trail mix and an iced detox tea and fizz stick. For lunch we went to a local sports bar Maxie’s. I had their tequila lime chicken sandwich with no bun and added grilled peppers and avocados on top and a side salad. It was delicious. For an afternoon snack I had rice cakes and almonds. In the evening we had a pot roast with pumpkin, green beans and carrots. It was perfect b/c it was a brisk evening. I finished my night with a detox tea.

Day 27

I started my day with a berry shake and took a hot detox tea to go since it was a chilly morning. After Mass and Religious Ed I had two adobaba tacos with cabbage, cilantro, onions and some lime. I asked for tortilla this time, because I was tired of the weird looks I would get when I asked for it without it. I just didn’t eat the tortilla. Since it was just the meat and veggies, I was still hungry when I got home so I made a macaroon shake with a table-spoon of almond butter. While at my afternoon Arbonne Workshop I had some raspberries and grapes ( I know not an authorized detox fruit), I also had the leftover fit chews that no one sampled. For dinner I am having leftover pot roast and will finish my evening with a detox tea.

This is by far my favorite new homemade smoothie and it’s simple to make. Below are the ingredients.

I put a tablespoon of yogurt, banana, strawberries, scoop of chocolate whey protein and a glug or 2 of water. I sometimes add chia seeds if I feel like a need the for extra protein or want the added crunch. Blend and enjoy!

I love scary movies. I am talking about a good old fashion ghost story not the new gore movies we now qualify as a scary movie. I totally believe that things happen sometimes that we can’t explain. If invited evil can lurk in the corners and there are certain things that should just be left a lone. I still get mad at little Reagan for playing with the ouija board.

In the August 3, 2012 issue of Entertainment Weekly, I found myself fascinated by the “Little Box of Horrors” article by Clark Collis. Truthfully, instead of fascinated I should say extremely terrified. I had to put it down a few times because it freaked me out so much.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a link to the article, but I will share the basic premise. A man becomes in possession of a wine box that has now become to be known as the dibbuk box (yiddish for a restless spirit that finds refuge in another being). He acquired the box and the contents inside 2 locks of hair, small granite statue with the word shalom in Hebrew engraved on it and a cast iron candle sticks in an estate sale of a Jewish woman who was a concentration camp survivor. In the sellers note it said that this woman acquired the box from Spain after she had escaped the camp. When the woman immigrated to the US she brought it along and claimed it housed a “dibbuk.” The family of the woman was very happy to be getting rid of the box. The dibbuk box exchanges many hands. Every owner of the box has the same laundry list of things happen to them. Illness falls upon them, they start seeing shadows in their house, they all have the same recurring dream of a horrible decrepit hag and some have tragedy occur in their lives. The current owner had enough of what this box was doing to him, so he decided to dig a little deeper in the history of the box. He found the family of the original owner. Apparently the original owner had tried to trap a spirit to help the Jews fight against the Nazis, but instead of catching a good Nazi kicking-ass spirit she caught an evil spirit. The family believes that many of the disasters of the second half of the 20th century were the work of this evil spirit, because the original owner could not contain it until she imprisoned it in the wine box.

Having had enough with what the box was doing to him, the current owner performed a “cleansing ceremony” on it. He also placed the box in a container made of acacia wood and gold leaf. These are the same materials that make up the Ark of the Covenant. From then on the current owner’s health got better. The box is currently housed in an unknown location. The current owner has written a book about his whole experience. It is called The Dibbuk Box by Jason Haxton. Click here to buy it. I’m thinking I will be reading this in October.

The new Sam Raimi movie The Possession (being released on August 31, 2012). Is loosely based on the story of the dibbuk box. No need to yell at me I didn’t spoil anything. They made up a fictional story, the dibbuk box is the thing that is messed with that brings in an evil force to the lives of a family.

Sam Raimi was asked if anything weird happen on set (even though the real dibbuk box was offered for the shoot no one wanted to be the caretaker). Apparently, five days after wrap, the prop storage house burned down to the ground and the fire department could not find the cause. Are you freaked out yet?

What are some of your favorite scary stories or movies?

I made this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie from the inspiration of my good friend’s daily breakfast. I call it the Auntie Kris.

1) Put about 6-8 of ice-cubes in blender 2) Put the banana in cut up in about 3-4 pieces 3) add scoop of chocolate protein powder 4) add a tablespoon of peanut butter 5) add a tablespoon of chia seeds 6) Finally, add a splash of water and blend

This is a great smoothie after or before a long rigorous workout. It is protein packed! If you drink it before make sure to drink a bit ahead of your workout. I drank it today 30 min before my back to back TRX and cross fit work out.

During the summertime, our TV viewing is cut down dramatically due to the summer hiatus of most of our weekly network shows. We take this time to catch up on our movie viewing. Last night we watched Friends with Kids.

The writing is funny and witty. It also takes a frank look at how life does change when you have children. As a parent of young kids I could totally relate to a lot of the dialogue. I really enjoyed how all the characters played off one another. This is the first time I have seen Adam Scott in a lead role and I think he was great! He and Jessica Westfeldt had very good chemistry. Maya Rudolph is a comic genius! Can that women do anything wrong? John Hamm (swoon) has one pretty great scene. Can that man do anything wrong?

The set decor was AMAZING! I loved, loved, loved looking at the interior design of all the characters home. I fell in love with this wall abacus. I believe it is from CB2, but they are currently not selling it. Wouldn’t it look great in a play room or home office?

Here is an Entertainment Weekly behind the scenes article about movie from March. If you see this movie in the Red Box this weekend get it. You will be in for a treat!

What are some good movies on DVD you have seen lately?

The book I finished this week was Elements of Style by Wendy Wasserstein. I picked this book up at the library a couple weeks ago. I was looking for the latest Jennifer Weiner book, when I stumbled upon a pink covered book. Honestly, the cover made me pick it up. It is so pretty!

I didn’t know who Wendy Wasserstein was until I read the jacket cover. She is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony winning playwright. This was her first and unfortunately last novel. She died from lymphoma shortly before the book’s release. Elements of Style is a social comedy about the lives of the NYC social elite in a post 9/11 world. I thought the characters in the book were great. I definitely grew to love some of then and dislike one in particular. The characters experience some highs and with that of course comes the inevitable lows. The descriptions of their houses and parties are really well done. Click here for the goodreads summary. This book is perfect for the pool or beach!

What are some good books you all have read this summer?

I made a new smoothie this morning chocolate banana with chia seeds. From now on I am going to drink it after a hard work out. The additional protien in the chia seeds would be great for muscle recovery. This is the first time I have eaten chia seeds. It gave the smoothie a nice crunch. Here are some of the benefits of consuming chia seeds. I am not jumping on any bandwagon. I am going to consume the package I bought and then make my own conclusion. I will let you know if I see or feel any difference in my body.

This is how I made my smoothie: 1) Added 10-12 cubes of ice in blender, 2) Scoop of chocolate protein in blender, 3) Added banana pieces in blender, 4) Added tablespoon of chia seeds, 5) Added 1/2 cup of water BLEND and ENJOY!

I am not a very good breakfast eater, never have been. School mornings are crazy. I lucky if I shove a banana in my mouth. After I drop the boys off at their respective schools I go to the gym and most of the times I work out with an empty stomach *gasp*. I know I have probably done a number on my metabolism from years of skipping breakfast. One of my dearest friends Kris mentioned that she makes a smoothie for herself for breakfast. So I decided to follow her example. Since it is the summer I will hopefully have the smoothie making down to a science when the school year starts!

To make things easier I decided to buy the Cuisinart version of the Magic Bullet. I bought mine at Bed Bath and Beyond. It was very reasonable with the 20% off coupon.

Today’s smoothie was a banana blueberry mango. Here are the ingredients. There is no wrong way to make your smoothie. This is what I did: